New Beginnings
by celera
Summary: This story starts on Sunday and follows the BC members as they deal with the aftermath of detention.
1. Chapter 1: Confusion and Clarity

Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters. When you review, please be specific about what you like/don't like. You don't have to give me a whole page but I want you guys to be as constructive as possible. Enjoy!

Chapter 1- Confusion and Clarity

Claire Standish woke up in a groggy haze from a long day's night. Skipping Stubby's party to catch up on English should have conserved a lot of energy. But she still felt weighed down by fatigue even though she spent the past twelve hours asleep. _Wow, detention really was that draining, _she thought to herself. As she began to recall yesterday's events, such a conclusion started to make sense. All of the Breakfast Club shared things about themselves that they would never tell in normal circumstances. While the experience was not as cathartic for all as it was for Andy and Brian, it did take a lot for them to open up.

But something else still did not make any sense to her. But before she could even begin to ponder what that was, her parents stormed into the room. "Claire, are you up yet," her mother called.

"Huh," she groaned tiredly, completely unaware of the question.

"You slept for so long that we were getting worried about you," her father chimed in.

Claire's eyes flew open. _Did he just say 'we,'_ she wondered as she sat up. The effects of yesterday on her had to be big if it caused her parents, even indirectly, to put up a united front. "Oh, no need to do that. This is the first good night's sleep I had in God knows how long," she said, faking a smile.

"Great to hear that. This means you have enough energy to help me shop," her mother replied enthusiastically. Claire's mouth dropped open in shock. Wasn't she supposed to be grounded?

"Not this again Elaine. How many more clothes does she really need?"

"Is it any different when you get a mine full of diamonds for her George?"

"Those earrings were for her birthday. She can only turn eighteen once. But you insist on getting her something all the time."

"Look how hard she worked last night. You're telling me I don't have the right to give her a break?"

"Mom, I still have a lot to do. I don't need to go." While Claire was in no mood to study, she did not feel like going to the mall either.

"See, even she says she doesn't need to run us into debt," George shot back.

"But you can afford to get her any shiny and new dress she might want for prom when mine fits perfectly on her."

"This is for a special occasion. I can't give her the best for events that only happen once to her?"

"What kind of occasion was it when you got her a Cartier watch because Sean O'Day rejected her? I know she was hurt but don't you think that was a little too much? To get her a something that everyone wants to rip away from her arm?"

"Guys, if I need I break, I can-," Claire said, trying to calm her parents down.

"A lot of people want her diamond studs but only someone asking for trouble would actually rip them off her ears," George snapped, unwittingly cutting his daughter off. Even though she couldn't diffuse the argument, Claire sighed in relief. He still didn't know that one earring was gone.

"I don't want to hear this anymore," Elaine fumed as she left the room. "Claire, be ready in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Claire murmured mechanically as she stood up. She began to walk towards the bathroom when her father stopped her.

"Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she said as cheerfully as possible. "Why?"

"You still look a little tired. I can't believe your mother was too empty-headed to notice."

"Oh, no big deal. One more day of rest and I'll be fine," she answered, trying to ignore the insult about her mother. While Elaine was nowhere close to being an ideal parent, to say that she was empty-headed was uncalled for. On the other hand, Claire could only hope that her mother would continue not to notice anything unusual about her. Especially since the sinking feeling of her stomach told her that George Standish was a little too perceptive for comfort….

"You sure? Because it was no big deal that you were so quiet yesterday."

At that moment, Claire began to wish she didn't kiss John Bender in plain view of her father. All she could do was hope that he was looking the wrong way. "I said I'll be okay-"

"Who was that boy?"

"What," she asked, startled by the question.

"That one you were with when I picked you up yesterday."

"Oh. John Bender. You wouldn't know him."

"I heard enough about him to know that you should be careful around him. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," she said blankly, trying to end the conversion as quickly as possible.

"Good. Now go do whatever you have to do."

Claire walked to the bathroom and quickly shut the door. As she brushed her teeth, her mind wandered to John Bender. All of a sudden, yesterday seemed even more surreal. She thought of the swagger that inevitably won over the large number of girls in his wallet. The strange scent of tobacco mixed with pot. The dark eyes that seemed to probe into her very soul. And she was still no closer to figuring out exactly what drew her to Bender. Even when she factored in Allison's bizarre behavior, he was still the most puzzling one of all her fellow Breakfast Club members.

Was it his honesty that attracted her? Unlike Claire, Bender didn't care what others thought of him when he shared personal information. But maybe she was giving him too much credit. Did he really have much of a reputation to lose in the first place? The fact that he was honest about having multiple girlfriends should have been enough to repel her. But unlike other openly promiscuous boys she knew, he didn't brag about having a harem of "bitches." While he was not ashamed to say that "one guy, one girl" did not work for him, he didn't seem proud of it either. Perhaps there was a chance that she could have him all to herself.

But how he would feel if that wish came true? Claire finally realized that this question was the very thing that plagued her all morning. She knew he felt something for her from yesterday's kiss but not if it was enough to have more than just a fling. How could she be sure that Bender's feelings would last when he made his contempt for those who had everything very clear? Confusing her even more was the fact that he did this _after _he lit the joint for her. She wondered if he would ever bend over backwards for his other girlfriends like he did for her yesterday.

Claire sighed. The more she thought of Bender, the less sense he made to her. And she still couldn't tell if her father knew about them. But there was nothing she could do about that now. The question that mattered more was what she would do about him tomorrow….

"Claire, hurry up," Elaine called.

"Coming," she answered as she quickly changed. She found her mother waiting for her when she opened the door.  
"Come on," Elaine urged, taking her daughter's hand. "Now, tell me what kind of car you think is good."

"Is your car that old already?"

"Maybe. But you need one more."

"I do?"

"Don't fool yourself. It's just wrong that you're an adult and you don't have your own car yet. It's kind of overdue for your birthday but oh well. Think of it as an early graduation gift."

A very stunned Claire stood there, completely surprised at mother's lavish offer. But now that she thought this morning's fight, she knew she needed a car more than ever. As far as she could see, her parents could only grow more bitter toward each other…….

"You don't have to know what you want now. You have all of lunch to decide," Elaine said after a long silence.

_Now go do whatever you have to do. _As her father's words echoed in her mind, Claire realized she would be foolish not to jump at this opportunity. "All right," she said enthusiastically. "When are we going?"

"Whenever you make up your mind," Elaine said with a sinister smile. Claire worried about how her father would react to her mother's plans but decided that it wasn't important. Their relationship was beyond repair anyway. On the more positive side, Claire knew from the smile that her mother really did forget she was grounded. And that she wouldn't care if she remembered.


	2. Chapter 2: Andy's Lucky Weekend

Chapter 2- Andy's Lucky Weekend

Andy squinted uncomfortably as the sunlight began to invade his room. He instinctively reached for the blanket to protect his eyes.

"Rise and shine son," his father said with far too much enthusiasm. As an energetic Danny Clark sauntered around the room, Andy only buried his head deeper into the blanket at his command.

"I said get up," Danny said gruffly, pulling off the blanket. Andy moved toward his clock to take a better look. _This is cruel even for him, _he thought. "It's only eight."

"Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures."

"What do you mean?"

"You need to keep those recruiters interested and I'm not gonna let you lose focus just because of some girl. Even if it was off-season, I don't know why you would screw around with someone like that. She's just so, so- well, just get your lazy ass out of bed."

Andy didn't move. He couldn't after his father insulted Allison in front of him. He almost laughed when Danny couldn't think of a way to describe Allison intelligently. But he immediately realized that he didn't want to know exactly what his father thought of her.

"Come on! Move it," Danny screamed, dragging Andy off the bed, who was too tired to resist. _Does this really need to happen to me now, _he wondered. But then he remembered that he didn't deserve a day of rest. After all, he never got any proper punishment for what he did to Larry Lester. Perhaps this forced workout would help quiet his conscience.

Danny led his son to the basement, which held the best training equipment money could buy. While the Clarks conserved financially in other areas, they spared no expense into making their basement the best home gym in all of Shermer. Or from Andy's perspective, the ideal place to produce a racehorse.

"You better be grateful I'm letting you pick which exercise to do first. And that you get to hear _your _music," Danny said rudely, blindly picking up a Madonna tape and slipping it into the stereo. "Now get to work. And don't even think about the girl."

_Oh I'll get to work alright, _Andy said to himself. He decided on the treadmill, believing that running hard would be the most punishing thing for his lethargic body at the moment. He stepped on to begin the grim task of pushing his muscles to their limit.

However, the task became more tolerable than it should have been when the beat to "Lucky Star" began to play. Andy's mood lifted even higher when the lyrics reminded him of Allison. He thought of her beautiful face, her independent spirit, and most importantly, how refreshingly different she was from all the girls he dated before. It was no wonder Allison was the first girl he truly melted for. _She's not even here and she already makes me so happy, _he thought. He smiled even more when he realized that he was defying his father right under his nose.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" Danny asked.

Andy flinched at the question but did his best to hide his reaction. "What?"

"You never smiled during a workout before."

_Nice observation genius. And you wonder why I'm normally unhappy, _Andy thought darkly. But he decided against airing out those complaints. He didn't want his father to notice anything else unusual about him. "I just love this song so much, that's all."

"I'm turning it up for you champ."

Even though he knew his father wasn't catering to him for the most altruistic reasons, Andy couldn't believe this was happening. Was his luck really taking a turn for the better? This could very well be the only logical explanation. After all, it didn't make much sense that God or fate could decide that meeting the girl of his dreams was a fitting consequence to taping someone's buns together.

But there was no use in thinking about whether he really got what he deserved now. Yesterday's fateful detention had given him, no, given them all, a second chance to live by their own terms instead of other people's expectations. Andy knew he couldn't let this opportunity go but wondered if the rest of the Breakfast Club would take it. There seemed to be hope for Brian but Bender was just too much of an enigma to figure out. And for the first time in his life, Andy actually pitied Claire. Saying it was impossible for them all to be friends showed that she didn't even know this opportunity was knocking on her door. He wondered what it would take to make her see that.

Now that he thought of it, Allison never really cared about how others expected her to act. But she had been isolated for so long that no one knew how much she was worth. Claire's makeover showed him how much Allison could shine if she didn't hide herself. At that thought, Andy was again mesmerized by her eyes, which were heavenly to look at, with or without black shit. While she seemed to be stepping out of her shell at the end of detention, he still had no idea if she really knew how beautiful she was. The intimate environment of detention made it easy for Allison to be comfortable in her own skin because no one persecuted her for being herself. But would she withdraw again after his soon-to-be-former friends treat her like dirt? Andy knew he had to agree with Claire's realism to that extent. This was a grim but likely possibility. And as strong as his connection was to the rest of the Club, he would be fooling himself if he believed they could all be one happy family overnight.

Still, he had been fortunate enough just to meet Allison Reynolds. If this kind of luck continued, a future with her really would indeed be possible. Andy smiled at the thought and decided that tomorrow's troubles could wait until Monday. He spent the rest of his time on the treadmill lost in Allison's eyes……


End file.
